Ancient Maps
Some time ago, I reported on using GPS units with a Psion Series 5. Since then, the state of the art has changed enough to mean that the best options for mobile users have changed considerably, even though the underlying changes in product features are quite small.
The most significant change is that you can now buy GPS units with built-in (and downloadable) maps. It is now reasonable to use a GPS on its own as a sort of unsophisticated route finder; if you have a good general idea of where you are going, but can't remember the details, a GPS III+ or StreetPilot (both by Garmin, and both due to ship in the UK with UK maps about now) is a very convenient way of finding your way. Using Route Planner on a Psion Series 5 or Windows CE machine is still an excellent option, roughly the equivalent of using a laptop with route planning software and GPS support; but I still find that it is easy to drift away from the directions unless you have a navigator with a detailed map as well as the software and GPS. Until we have route planning software that incrementally recalculates your best route as you drive, and gives voice directions, a mapping GPS on its own is a better option. The speech software for reading routes isn't far away: there is a free product for Series that can do this, working from a Route Planner set of instructions.
Palm Route map
Route directions
Having mentioned Route, it is worth pointing out that they now have a Palm version, with both European and USA maps. It has obviously had to be adapted to the smaller platform, but Palmtop have spent considerable effort on building a new user interface that suits the smaller display. There is a zoom widget on one side of the screen that can be used for remarkably fine control of the resolution, and the centre point of the map on the screen can be changed by dragging the map around. It is still just as fiddly getting the ideal level of detail by clicking several times on a button, but the basic control of the map is quite good. Palmtop have recently changed the data source for the maps, with spectacular results in my case. Checking the route from Tylers Green to Amersham showed over 100 miles; and I discovered that the Palm map now has only Tylers Green in Essex, and not the one in Buckinghamshire that was also present in the Series 5 edition. Neither edition had the Tylers Green in Surrey, as a matter of interest.
Palm Route includes GPS support, but I can't imagine it being very practical to use: the screen is small, and battery life is considerably reduced when using the serial port heavily, as this does. My preference now is to refer to route directions that have been precalculated when driving to unfamiliar places for the first time, but to rely on a GPS with map for most practical purposes.
MetrO tube route planner
A long time ago, I can recall buying pocket diaries just for the tube map in the back; that soon graduated to using image viewers on Psions with scans of London Underground's copyrighted diagram. The first web sites with route finder on them were quite a revelation, but best of all is the new MetrO program for Palms. One the London Underground I can find my way between central stops with ease; but the New York subway and Paris Metro frankly scare me, and Tokyo is an interesting challenge. MetrO has route plans for all of these, as well as many locations as strange as Wien and Tashkent.
http://home.worldnet.fr/patriceb/Technique/Metro/Metro-en.html
Words and design by:
Paul Lynch
Last updated: January 24, 2000